Where refugees in Ohio are arriving from
During the past five decades, the U.S. has resettled over 3 million refugees, making it one of the leading countries for finding new homes for people fleeing violence, persecution, and war.
In 2021, then-President Donald Trump lowered the annual cap of refugees that could be admitted into the country to 15,000. Even as the Biden administration has raised the ceiling to 125,000, the annual number of refugees arriving in the U.S. didn't immediately bounce back to pre-Trump administration levels. The numbers are increasing though, with over 25,000 refugees arriving in the U.S. in the 2022 fiscal year, twice the 2021 total.
Refugee arrivals during the 2023 fiscal year dramatically outpaced the prior two years, reaching over 60,000 from October 2022 to September 2023.
In June 2024, the greatest number of refugees admitted by the U.S. came from Venezuela, Afghanistan, and Congo. Each nation faces a unique set of circumstances that can make their citizens unsafe if they stay in their home country.
In Venezuela, over 7.5 million people have left the country due to extreme inflation, violence, food and medicine scarcity, and other factors. Most have resettled in Latin American and Caribbean countries. Afghan refugees have been fleeing to neighboring countries for decades, especially to Pakistan and Iran, which combined host over 8 million Afghans. For the last three decades, Congo, also called the Democratic Republic of Congo, has been struggling with a series of civil wars and internal battles that have left millions of people displaced, both internally and externally, with many people fleeing to neighboring countries.
Stacker referenced data from the Refugee Processing Center to compile statistics on the number of refugees and their countries of origin resettled in Ohio in June 2024. Countries with only one refugee since October 2023 are not included.
June refugee statistics
Countries where refugees arrived from in June
To Ohio:
#1. Congo: 42
#2. Venezuela: 34
#3. Somalia: 25
#4. Sudan: 24
#5. Afghanistan: 16
#6. Syria: 11
#7. Iraq: 5
#8. Guatemala: 4
#9. Ethiopia: 2
#9. Honduras: 2
#11. Nepal: 1
#11. Senegal: 1
To the U.S. as a whole:
#1. Venezuela: 1,163
#2. Afghanistan: 1,093
#3. Congo: 615
#4. Syria: 422
#5. Somalia: 403
States that accepted the most refugees in June:
#1. Texas: 619
#2. California: 370
#3. New York: 355
#4. Florida: 339
#5. Arizona: 243
Read on to see the countries that Ohio has accepted the most refugees from since the start of the fiscal year in October 2023.
#1. Congo
Refugees that arrived from Congo since October 2023
To Ohio: 966
To the U.S. as a whole: 15,226
Top states receiving refugees from Congo
#1. Texas: 1,392
#2. Kentucky: 1,286
#3. Arizona: 1,050
#4. New York: 1,002
#5. Ohio: 966
#2. Syria
Refugees that arrived from Syria since October 2023
To Ohio: 405
To the U.S. as a whole: 8,653
Top states receiving refugees from Syria
#1. New York: 857
#2. Michigan: 806
#3. Pennsylvania: 640
#4. Texas: 510
#5. California: 479
#3. Somalia
Refugees that arrived from Somalia since October 2023
To Ohio: 219
To the U.S. as a whole: 3,185
Top states receiving refugees from Somalia
#1. Minnesota: 959
#2. Ohio: 219
#3. New York: 208
#4. Arizona: 171
#5. Missouri: 150
#4. Afghanistan
Refugees that arrived from Afghanistan since October 2023
To Ohio: 194
To the U.S. as a whole: 9,974
Top states receiving refugees from Afghanistan
#1. California: 2,006
#2. Texas: 1,012
#3. Virginia: 854
#4. Washington: 605
#5. New York: 462
#5. Sudan
Refugees that arrived from Sudan since October 2023
To Ohio: 118
To the U.S. as a whole: 1,544
Top states receiving refugees from Sudan
#1. New York: 134
#2. Ohio: 118
#3. Texas: 112
#4. Missouri: 100
#5. Pennsylvania: 95
#6. Eritrea
Refugees that arrived from Eritrea since October 2023
To Ohio: 97
To the U.S. as a whole: 1,613
Top states receiving refugees from Eritrea
#1. Washington: 162
#1. Texas: 162
#3. North Carolina: 104
#4. Iowa: 98
#5. Ohio: 97
#7. Venezuela
Refugees that arrived from Venezuela since October 2023
To Ohio: 95
To the U.S. as a whole: 5,616
Top states receiving refugees from Venezuela
#1. Florida: 933
#2. Texas: 802
#3. Illinois: 352
#4. Georgia: 253
#5. North Carolina: 204
#8. Myanmar
Refugees that arrived from Myanmar since October 2023
To Ohio: 60
To the U.S. as a whole: 5,034
Top states receiving refugees from Myanmar
#1. Texas: 581
#2. Illinois: 545
#3. New York: 492
#4. Wisconsin: 369
#5. Georgia: 362
#9. Ukraine
Refugees that arrived from Ukraine since October 2023
To Ohio: 54
To the U.S. as a whole: 1,263
Top states receiving refugees from Ukraine
#1. Washington: 483
#2. California: 201
#3. New York: 75
#4. Florida: 66
#5. Ohio: 54
#10. Nicaragua
Refugees that arrived from Nicaragua since October 2023
To Ohio: 51
To the U.S. as a whole: 1,921
Top states receiving refugees from Nicaragua
#1. Florida: 245
#2. Texas: 147
#3. California: 143
#4. Minnesota: 107
#5. Arizona: 88
#11. Iraq
Refugees that arrived from Iraq since October 2023
To Ohio: 41
To the U.S. as a whole: 1,300
Top states receiving refugees from Iraq
#1. California: 209
#2. Michigan: 172
#3. Texas: 106
#4. Nebraska: 71
#5. Arizona: 67
#12. Guatemala
Refugees that arrived from Guatemala since October 2023
To Ohio: 38
To the U.S. as a whole: 3,253
Top states receiving refugees from Guatemala
#1. California: 425
#2. Texas: 340
#3. Florida: 204
#4. North Carolina: 199
#5. Georgia: 136
#13. Ethiopia
Refugees that arrived from Ethiopia since October 2023
To Ohio: 27
To the U.S. as a whole: 339
Top states receiving refugees from Ethiopia
#1. Minnesota: 98
#2. Texas: 31
#3. Washington: 28
#4. Ohio: 27
#5. Georgia: 25
#14. Republic of South Sudan
Refugees that arrived from Republic of South Sudan since October 2023
To Ohio: 26
To the U.S. as a whole: 1,045
Top states receiving refugees from Republic of South Sudan
#1. Texas: 101
#2. Nebraska: 95
#3. New York: 85
#4. Colorado: 66
#4. Arizona: 66
#15. Pakistan
Refugees that arrived from Pakistan since October 2023
To Ohio: 17
To the U.S. as a whole: 704
Top states receiving refugees from Pakistan
#1. Pennsylvania: 101
#2. Texas: 73
#3. Virginia: 62
#4. New York: 49
#5. North Carolina: 46
#16. Republic of Congo
Refugees that arrived from Republic of Congo since October 2023
To Ohio: 14
To the U.S. as a whole: 338
Top states receiving refugees from Republic of Congo
#1. Missouri: 32
#2. Pennsylvania: 28
#3. New York: 25
#3. Illinois: 25
#5. South Carolina: 24
#17. Burundi
Refugees that arrived from Burundi since October 2023
To Ohio: 13
To the U.S. as a whole: 476
Top states receiving refugees from Burundi
#1. Texas: 54
#2. Arizona: 49
#3. New York: 41
#4. Pennsylvania: 37
#5. Iowa: 30
#18. Colombia
Refugees that arrived from Colombia since October 2023
To Ohio: 11
To the U.S. as a whole: 967
Top states receiving refugees from Colombia
#1. Florida: 124
#2. North Carolina: 91
#3. Texas: 81
#4. New York: 64
#5. Washington: 63
#19. Honduras
Refugees that arrived from Honduras since October 2023
To Ohio: 10
To the U.S. as a whole: 727
Top states receiving refugees from Honduras
#1. Texas: 118
#2. Florida: 87
#3. New York: 55
#4. California: 42
#4. Georgia: 42
#20. El Salvador
Refugees that arrived from El Salvador since October 2023
To Ohio: 9
To the U.S. as a whole: 987
Top states receiving refugees from El Salvador
#1. Texas: 134
#2. California: 114
#3. Maryland: 107
#4. Virginia: 74
#5. North Carolina: 70
#21. Central African Republic
Refugees that arrived from Central African Republic since October 2023
To Ohio: 7
To the U.S. as a whole: 725
Top states receiving refugees from Central African Republic
#1. Missouri: 75
#2. Texas: 72
#3. Michigan: 55
#4. Georgia: 43
#5. North Carolina: 40
#22. Uzbekistan
Refugees that arrived from Uzbekistan since October 2023
To Ohio: 6
To the U.S. as a whole: 44
Top states receiving refugees from Uzbekistan
#1. New York: 13
#2. Washington: 12
#3. California: 8
#4. Ohio: 6
#5. Oregon: 5
#22. Yemen
Refugees that arrived from Yemen since October 2023
To Ohio: 6
To the U.S. as a whole: 103
Top states receiving refugees from Yemen
#1. Michigan: 21
#2. Georgia: 13
#2. New York: 13
#4. Montana: 12
#5. Arizona: 8
#24. Senegal
Refugees that arrived from Senegal since October 2023
To Ohio: 5
To the U.S. as a whole: 59
Top states receiving refugees from Senegal
#1. Massachusetts: 15
#2. Georgia: 9
#3. Texas: 8
#4. Ohio: 5
#4. South Carolina: 5
#24. Uganda
Refugees that arrived from Uganda since October 2023
To Ohio: 5
To the U.S. as a whole: 35
Top states receiving refugees from Uganda
#1. Massachusetts: 6
#1. Missouri: 6
#3. Ohio: 5
#4. Michigan: 4
#4. Washington: 4
#26. Mali
Refugees that arrived from Mali since October 2023
To Ohio: 4
To the U.S. as a whole: 176
Top states receiving refugees from Mali
#1. Pennsylvania: 27
#2. New York: 24
#3. South Carolina: 23
#4. Connecticut: 13
#4. Michigan: 13
#26. Armenia
Refugees that arrived from Armenia since October 2023
To Ohio: 4
To the U.S. as a whole: 220
Top states receiving refugees from Armenia
#1. California: 192
#2. Washington: 10
#3. South Carolina: 9
#4. Oregon: 5
#5. Ohio: 4
#28. India
Refugees that arrived from India since October 2023
To Ohio: 3
To the U.S. as a whole: 7
Top states receiving refugees from India
#1. Oregon: 4
#2. Ohio: 3
#28. Belarus
Refugees that arrived from Belarus since October 2023
To Ohio: 3
To the U.S. as a whole: 295
Top states receiving refugees from Belarus
#1. Washington: 70
#2. California: 50
#3. New York: 27
#4. Massachusetts: 26
#5. Pennsylvania: 24
#30. Nepal
Refugees that arrived from Nepal since October 2023
To Ohio: 2
To the U.S. as a whole: 2
Top states receiving refugees from Nepal
#1. Ohio: 2
#30. Jamaica
Refugees that arrived from Jamaica since October 2023
To Ohio: 2
To the U.S. as a whole: 10
Top states receiving refugees from Jamaica
#1. California: 2
#1. Colorado: 2
#1. Michigan: 2
#1. North Carolina: 2
#1. Ohio: 2
#30. Ivory Coast
Refugees that arrived from Ivory Coast since October 2023
To Ohio: 2
To the U.S. as a whole: 63
Top states receiving refugees from Ivory Coast
#1. Pennsylvania: 10
#2. Minnesota: 8
#3. Massachusetts: 7
#4. Arkansas: 6
#5. Florida: 4
#30. Russia
Refugees that arrived from Russia since October 2023
To Ohio: 2
To the U.S. as a whole: 295
Top states receiving refugees from Russia
#1. Washington: 77
#2. California: 62
#3. Oregon: 24
#4. North Carolina: 22
#5. Minnesota: 20
#30. Cameroon
Refugees that arrived from Cameroon since October 2023
To Ohio: 2
To the U.S. as a whole: 102
Top states receiving refugees from Cameroon
#1. Texas: 13
#1. Pennsylvania: 13
#3. Nevada: 8
#4. Maryland: 7
#4. California: 7
#30. Guinea
Refugees that arrived from Guinea since October 2023
To Ohio: 2
To the U.S. as a whole: 75
Top states receiving refugees from Guinea
#1. Colorado: 15
#2. Georgia: 9
#3. North Carolina: 7
#4. Arizona: 5
#4. Michigan: 5
This story features data reporting and writing by Emma Rubin and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 46 states.
